Medical Ninjutsu
Spring, Konoha Year 44.
Time flew by, and another five years passed.
Baiye walked out of Konoha Hospital to find the sky already darkening. The spring breeze carried damp warmth, and it no longer stung his face as it had in winter.
He had graduated from the Ninja Academy at nine, perfectly normal for the times. Even a "dead last" like Obito had graduated at nine.
Though it was not wartime, no one would have called it an age of peace.
He stood on the steps, watching the vendors packing up their stalls in twos and threes and the ninja hurrying along the street.
The strange atmosphere was so thick he could almost "smell" it.
Even without foresight like his, people could pick up all sorts of information from their surroundings, and unease would begin to spread. The atmosphere in the village grew tenser with each passing year, missions became more numerous, and the wounded arrived more frequently.
Now and then, he also overheard conversations between ninja, and the subjects always came back to the same places—the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning.
The war had yet to begin, but everyone could sense, to some degree, that it was coming.
Most newly minted ninja who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy would carry out a few simple missions under their assigned Jonin instructors before moving on to missions outside the village.
They would not be assigned missions that brought them into contact with enemy ninja right away, but it was only a matter of time.
Ninja were, after all, machines of slaughter and war.
He said most because a handful of people like Baiye had applied to become medical-nin before graduation. Konoha Hospital would train them for a time, then select those with talent to stay.
Princess Tsunade, one of the Konoha Sannin and the princess of the Senju and all of Konoha, had proposed more than once that every four-person squad be assigned a dedicated medical-nin.
The proposal had been controversial at the time. Opponents argued that it would "waste" a combatant on the front lines and that medical-nin were extremely difficult to train, making it likely that more of them would be lost.
In the end, limited resources prevented its full implementation, but the Third also felt that Tsunade's idea had merit. He planned to put it partially into practice first, training some Ninja Academy graduates as medical-nin to see how it worked.
That was how Baiye entered Konoha Hospital.
Of course, a year after him, Rin also came to the hospital.
She was another girl whom fate had not favored.
Baiye tugged at his medical-nin vest and headed home.
"Baiye!"
A familiar voice called from behind him. Baiye turned and saw a black-haired boy wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector running toward him, carrying something in his hand.
Obito.
"Are you going to the hospital to see Rin again?"
Before Obito could speak, Baiye delivered the familiar line.
"What do you mean, 'again'? I'm just... passing by. I think something went wrong with my training a few days ago, so I wanted Rin to take a look... This stuff is her fee!"
Obito flushed red, trying to convince Baiye with his flimsy excuse.
"Oh? Something went wrong with your training? We can't let that wait. Rin might be busy today, so why don't you let me take a look?"
"You! ...Your medical skills aren't as good as Rin's. I'd better go find her."
Obito hurriedly hid the things behind his back, pushed away Baiye's outstretched hand, and took two panicked steps backward.
Baiye smiled and did not argue with the panicked nonsense of a little boy experiencing his first crush.
"All right, go find your Rin. You know where she is."
Only then did Obito recover from his panic. Realizing he had been tricked, he gave the pale, seemingly frail "senior" a resentful look. He always felt a little short of breath whenever he faced him.
Hmph, it's got to be my imagination. I'm the man who's going to become Hokage. How could I be afraid of a "coward"?
Of course, Rin was a girl, so she definitely was not a "coward."
"Oh, right... um... does that guy Kakashi still come to the hospital these days?"
After taking a couple of steps, Obito turned back and asked awkwardly.
"Are you afraid he'll come looking for Rin? Or are you worried he's been hurt?"
"Who... who, who's worried about him?! I, I, I... I'm afraid he'll come to the hospital over some little injury and get in the way of Rin's studies!"
"Don't worry, he hasn't been to the hospital in a long time. He's Konoha's genius, and he's done exceptionally well on his missions. I even heard the higher-ups are considering promoting him to Jonin."
"Jonin?!"
Baiye sighed as he watched Obito walk toward the hospital in a daze.
A boy so easily swayed by his feelings would become a cold-blooded butcher responsible for countless deaths in just a year or two... Was this what people meant when they said fate toyed with people?
The more time he spent with these children, the heavier his heart felt.
"Teacher Aizen, what do you think of fate?"
"Fate? There is no such thing... What people call fate is merely a way for the weak to comfort themselves when faced with established facts they are powerless to change."
How could it be so easy to become strong enough to disregard fate?
Perhaps only someone like Aizen, who stood at the pinnacle of the Shinigami, could say something so domineering.
Baiye walked on, lost in thought, but had only gone a few steps when he heard another voice.
This one was louder, and more... burning.
"Baiye!!!"
A green figure charged over from nearby and skidded to a stop in front of Baiye, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Might Guy.
Why is it so lively today?
"Today's youth is dazzling as ever!" Might Guy gave him a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.
Expressionless, Baiye patted the dust off his clothes.
"Kakashi didn't come to the hospital today."
"I'm not here for Kakashi. I already challenged him earlier. Today was our thirteenth match, and I lost. My record is five wins and eight losses!"
"Oh, that's really too bad."
"Ohhh~ Don't worry! Burning youth knows no discouragement. I'm going to punish myself by walking ten laps around Konoha on my hands tonight!"
"Then good luck..."
To be fair, Baiye certainly did not dislike a hot-blooded fool like Might Guy. After all, this was the man who had nearly kicked the story to its finale, and he really did burn bright.
But he was not very good at dealing with Might Guy, either.
"Wait... I came to see you."
Might Guy caught hold of Baiye, who was trying to slip away.
"That's right! Let's have a youthful duel!"
"But I'm just a medical-nin..."
Baiye looked at the injured boy before him and recalled the first time he had been carried into the hospital—wrapped in bandages from head to toe, still shouting, "The pain of youth is nothing!"
After that, he came to Baiye whenever he was hurt, and they gradually grew familiar with each other... but he had never challenged Baiye to a duel before.
What happened?
"Haha, Kakashi told me all about it. You're an opponent even he hasn't beaten. After knowing you all these years, I never imagined your medical skills were so good and your fighting strength was so great too! Come on, let's set today's youth ablaze!"
...Damn Kakashi. He actually sold me out to get rid of this hot-blooded monster...
He's gotten older and really isn't cute at all anymore... Though five-year-old Kakashi was pretty annoying too.
The kid might have acted cold and distant, but he was every bit as stubborn as Might Guy. Over the past few years, Baiye had lost count of how many times Kakashi had sought him out, never saying a word before attacking...
"Next time, for sure!"
Baiye quickened his pace.
"Next time? Tomorrow? Or the day after?"
Might Guy shouted after him, then saw Baiye suddenly flicker and vanish.
"What an amazing Body Flicker Technique! I can't wait!"
When Baiye returned home, Hayate was sitting at the table doing his homework.
Eight-year-old Hayate was a little taller than others his age, and his fair face had a healthy flush, unlike Baiye's pallor.
Hayate had also awakened Transparent Release, but his talent for it was nowhere near as extraordinary as Baiye's. Baiye had also nurtured him with Kaidō and Medical Ninjutsu since he was little, so he had hardly suffered from Transparent Release's erosion.
"Big brother, you're home?"
Hayate looked up, his eyes lighting up as he started to rise.
"Sit down and finish your homework first."
"Oh."
He obediently sat back down, but kept watching Baiye.
"Then, when I finish my homework, can you play... train with me, big brother?"
Just then, their mother came over from the next room.
"Your brother has been busy all day. Don't disturb his rest."
"Oh..."
Hayate's disappointment was plain to see.
Baiye smiled.
"After dinner, we'll go out together. Let me see what progress you've made lately."
"Yay~"
Hayate jumped straight up, attempting to ascend to the heavens, but Baiye pressed him back down with one hand.
"But your health..."
"Don't worry, I'm doing much better. See, I hardly even cough these days."
"All right..."
She could never stop worrying about her precocious son. Even though Baiye's health had improved a great deal, as his mother, she could faintly sense that the burden he carried had grown heavier.
People were not made of wood or stone. Five years ago, he had found it hard even to call her "Mother," but by now he had long since accepted her as family.
"Student Gekko, why do you want to become a Shinigami? Or rather, why do you want to become stronger?"
"To stay alive... and to keep the people around me alive too."
"If you let the weak hold you back in the name of bonds, you cannot become truly strong."
"It seems you don't quite agree, but that's all right... After all, this is only my own view, my own path."
"My own path..."
Night.
A forest near the Hayate Clan.
Gekko Baiye stood silently on the branch of a tall, leafy tree, listening to the sounds around him as he looked at the panel that appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Gekko Baiye] [Soul strength: 312 (10th-grade Reiatsu)] [Current fate points: 25] [Swordsmanship: B (100/10000)] [Shunpo: C (2310/3000)] [Hakuda: C (550/3000)] [Hadō: D (870/1000)] [Bakudō: D (910/1000)] [Kaidō: C (2700/3000)] [Shop: Swordsmanship experience (available for purchase) Shunpo experience (available for purchase) Hakuda experience (available for purchase) Hadō experience (available for purchase) Bakudō experience (available for purchase) Kaidō experience (available for purchase)]
Ever since his soul strength passed 100, the interface had displayed his Reiatsu grade. After several years of uninterrupted Jinzen, his soul strength had reached 10th-grade Reiatsu, putting him on the threshold of a high-ranking Seated Officer.
And after he entered Konoha Hospital and began treating patients, he had also started accumulating fate points.
Although ordinary people and even ordinary ninja did not provide many fate points, the small amounts added up, and Baiye had accumulated more than 1,000 in total.
He had spent them all on Zankensoki experience, most of it on Kaidō.
As Aizen had said, the hereditary illness had been suppressed to its lowest possible level by the combined treatment of Kaidō and Medical Ninjutsu, but as long as he still possessed his Kekkei Genkai, its aftereffects could always return. To eliminate them at the root, he had to improve his Kaidō and Medical Ninjutsu further.
"I'll think about it when I reach a bottleneck."
"An opening!"
Suddenly, a sharp whistle of displaced air burst out beside him. A figure emerged from the air, the sword in his hands already slashing fiercely at Baiye.
It all happened so suddenly and at such close range that an ordinary person might have been struck before they could even react.
But Baiye seemed to have anticipated it. He merely raised the sheathed sword in his right hand slightly and blocked the vicious flash of the blade before him.
Clang—!
His attack blocked, the assailant did not panic. He pushed hard with his hands, intending to use the resistance to propel himself away and gain some distance.
Unfortunately, when he pushed, there was no resistance at all, and he nearly flung his sword away instead.
I'm in trouble!
Sure enough, Baiye gave him no chance to recover. He reached out with his left hand, grabbed the back of his collar, and casually shook him a few times, leaving him utterly limp and resigned to dangling from Baiye's hand.
"I give up! I give up! Stop shaking me! You're shaking me to pieces!"
Looking at Hayate, who had admitted defeat but whose eyes were darting around, plainly intent on causing trouble, Baiye could not help showing a "gentle" smile.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"
Spiritual power and Chakra surged out, forming a rope of light that bound Gekko Hayate.
Baiye casually hung Hayate from a branch, then sat down on the ground beneath the tree.
Foolish little brother, you're not so young anymore. You should know that losing comes at a price.